KALAMAZOO, MI — Congressman Fred Upton said he is in favor of removing government subsidies for oil and gas as well as renewable energy companies.

“I’m for putting all of these on an even footing,” Upton said during a debate against Democratic challenger Mike O’Brien. “Let’s look at the oil and gas subsidies, let’s take them away. Let’s let them compete just like everyone else at the same level. We can do that with the tax code to take those special provisions away.”

Upton, who is the leading Republican in the House on energy issues as chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, said similar subsidies should be taken away from the renewable energy industry.

“Let’s talk about taking those subsidies away,” said Upton during the debate hosted by MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette and WMUK, and held at Western Michigan University's Knauss Hall . “Let’s let the real cost of it be out there and let them compete on a fair and level playing field.”

Upton added: “Let’s let all of these energy companies compete on their own. Let’s have a very serious discussion about removing any subsidy that puts one form of energy ahead of the other. Let’s let the marketplace determine that. Supply and demand is a pretty good system that works and let’s have that in place.”

Upton made his comments in a larger discussion about the Republican investigation into Solyndra, a California-based solar panel company that went bankrupt after getting a half-billion dollar investment from the Department of Energy. Upton has led the investigation and sponsored a bill called the "No More Solyndra Act" that passed the house last month.

“As you look at Solyndra, this is a project that never should have been funded,” Upton said. “The evidence was there that they were not going to make it, so why is the taxpayer asked to pony $535 million to which they ultimately lost and a thousand people lost their jobs.”

O’Brien, who is running his first campaign for public office, brought up United Solar, a Michigan-based solar company Upton and others in the Michigan delegation supported giving a loan similar to which Solyndra received, according to USA Today.

“United Solar also went bankrupt and I don’t know why he doesn’t talk about that one,” O’Brien said during the debate. “You can’t be for one and not the other."

O’Brien, who worked for the offshore wind turbine company BlueWater Wind as a regional director for the company’s efforts in the Great Lakes, said renewable energy can create thousands of jobs and the government should help in fostering them.

“Let’s talk about investment in the future,” O’Brien said. Referencing the U.S. government’s investment in the transcontinental railroad system in the 19th century and national highway system in the 1950s. O’Brien said “we need to in invest, we need to double down.”

He added it can happen when “our government and our business men and women and our workers join together to make those investments a reality (and) financially viable.”

O’Brien said there is not “an open and vibrant market” for renewable energy in the United States, and companies have to sell their products outside the country.

“We need to get off the dime and make sure that market is here,” O’Brien said.

O'Brien said this is also tied to climate change, which he said is "conclusive science." O'Brien added that the Pentagon and the business community acknowledges it and that "it's time for Congress to acknowledge it."

But, O’Brien said he was “thrilled” to hear what Upton said about removing oil and gas subsidies. “We still give away tens of billions of dollars to oil and gas. I’m thrilled to hear your say it’s time to end those, I don’t think your voting record has reflected that,” O’Brien said.

O'Brien added: “We invest heavily in oil and gas, coal and nuclear to this day. If the Congressman is saying publicly he’d like to end all those subsidies, then I congratulate him and I look forward to that as an actual vote.”